Origins of the PAW Patrol
by Ella Master of Imagination
Summary: Everyone Knows about the Famous PAW Patrol... but how did they came to be? Ironically enough, it all started with two simple wishes. One from a little boy wanting to be rescued, the other from a pup that wanted to be just like his father. When miscommunication between the two leads the young pup on an adventure of a lifetime, everything changes...afterall,they really are good pups.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Ok...so I was watching my nephew play his paw patrol video game and got dragged into a conversation about the different fears that the various members of the Paw Patrol have. Upon realizing that we don't know what Zumi's fear is... I looked it up. Only to discover that he hasn't revealed it yet. And then I began to read fun facts about the characters. Which lead me to have this. I mean...there has to be a reason why Ryder is by himself despite being a minor...and why Chase is closer to him than the others. Hope you all Enjoy this little idea!**_

_Ella_

**P.S. I know this is a Kids show...but this is how my mind imagined it happened. And it does explain soo much about Ryder's relationships with the puppies.**

Once Upon a Time...

~Dingy Apartment In the Midst of a Large City (Imagine New York), Midnight~

The door with the peeling yellow paint creaked open slowly as a tiny figure slipped out from behind it. His brown hair was a disaster, clearly hadn't been washed in the last couple of weeks. His brown eyes were darting everywhere nervously, even as his stomach growled loudly in protest. The child was all skin and bones, with several bruises littering his skin that could be seen through his baggy loose fitting clothing that he wore.

Tiptoeing into the small apartment's kitchen, he carefully wiggled the padlock that kept the fridge tight shut. _Come on...just a little bit of food...Uncle doesn't need to know... please, I'm starvin' here!_

~Police Academy, Early Morning~

"Alright! Listen up punks...you think you can be a police officer...well I'm here to show you that ain't gonna happen to no softie. Your mommas can't help ya now." A large, fully grown, German shepherd growled out as he prowled in front of other full grown dogs of various breeds that stood at attention in front of him. A tall human male was doing the same thing with men and women that were standing at attention next to the dogs.

Ever since the Great Incident of 2020, dogs were no longer were considered animals and treated as such, they were as intelligent as humans and worked right alongside them even more so than they did in the past. The German Shepherd paused suddenly, a low groan escaping him. "Son...what are you doing here?"

A small German shepherd puppy scrambled forward, his eyes sparkling. "I want to be a police officer too Daddy!" His tail wagged excitedly as he bounced on his toes.

A sigh escaped the weary officer as he looked down at his child. "Chase... how many times do I have to tell you? When you are older, you may join."

"But Daddy! You say that every year!" Chase whined as he lowered himself to the ground, placing his chin on his front paws.

"You are just barely turned four. Give it another... twenty years." He paused, bracing himself for the complaint he was coming.

Chase widened his eyes as he tilted his head up to look at him. "But that's too long for me to wait!"

"Deputy Mākaʻi? Is something over there?" The police chief turned suddenly to look over at his best friend.

"Nothing is wrong Chief Michael. Just Chase wanting to follow in my footsteps...again." Mākaʻi flattened his young charge with a stern glare.

Michael walked over, a frown on his face. "Maybe you should look into a daycare for him." Mākaʻi flinched at that, a whimper escaping him. "Come on...its been three years since the fire. Annabella would want you to move on...which means trusting your son to the care of others."

"I know...I know. How's the missing boy case coming along? Any new leads?" He quickly switched the topic, referencing a very important missing person file that he knew his friend was working on.

"None. I don't get it. You would think that with all our technology at our disposal we would have found him clear back in 2032. All of our leads have gone cold." Michael closed his eyes, frustration flaring across his features.

"Daddy? If I find the missing human can I join the police force?" Chase timidly spoke up.

"Yeah..." Chase ran off, taking that as permission to do so. "You would think so, wouldn't you?" Mākaʻi shook his head as he turned to look for his son...only to realize that he was gone. "Where did Chase go?"

"No idea sir!" The dogs awaiting training barked out in unison.

Mākaʻi frowned, before shaking his head. "He can't go too far. Kid's never been off of the base before, not since the fire."

~Back at the Dingy Apartment, Morning~

The boy pulled his knees up to his chest, a new bruise growing on his face. Tears streamed down his face, even as he looked at a beat up picture of a man with his brown hair, but green eyes, and a woman with brilliant red hair and his brown eyes. Smiles glowed from their frozen in time faces, arms wrapped around each other as they posed for the picture. The man was wearing a tuxedo, while the woman was wearing a beautiful wedding gown, a bouquet of pink roses in her dainty hands. _Send me help...please Momma, Daddy..._

With that, the small boy fell asleep...

~Downtown New York (Basically),Late Morning...~

Chase ran along the streets, pausing frequently to sniff at the different trashcans and such. Nothing smelled out of the ordinary, though he hasn't been outside of the police academy since his mother and siblings died in a fire when he was very little. HE wasn't sure what anything was supposed to smell like. Tail wagging in excitement, he started down the street, looking everywhere for signs of the missing child.

"Look at me! I'm gonna be a police officer! Just like Daddy!" Chase puffed up his chest as he picked up speed, aiming for a fun looking park. If he was missing, he would want to go somewhere fun to wait for rescue.

Chase paused, as he looked over the crowded park. There was a great deal of puppies, and children in there, making it hard for him to see if anyone looked like the missing child. Lifting his chin up, he reminded himself why he was doing this. To become a police officer just like his daddy!


	2. Chapter 2

A Pup Makes Some New Friends...

Chase scrambled up a long staircase that lead up to a large yellow slide. Sitting down on the top, he slowly began to inch towards the edge of the flat part of the slide... suddenly his paws shot out from underneath him as he slid down to the bottom of the slide. A yelp escaped him as he scrambled to get his paws back underneath him. "Ahh!" He surged to his paws as soon as he crashed into the ground, shaking off any dust that clung to his fur.

A giggle came from behind him, startling Chase. "First time on a slide is it?" Spinning around, Chase came face to face with a young female Cockopoo puppy with light brown fur and pink eyes.

"Uh...hi!" Chase blinked rapidly, backing up slowly from the smiling pup.

"Hi. My name is Skye. What's yours?" Skye yipped excitedly as she flipped in the air. It was when she did that, that Chase, unlike himself who was wearing a blue collar, realized that she wasn't wearing a collar.

"Um...didn't your parents ever tell you stranger danger?" Chase was confused about why she would just act so...unwary around him.

Skye's tail dropped as a soft whine escaped her. "No...I don't have any parents. They didn't want me so they just left me alone out here on the streets."

"Nonsense! Everyone has parents that love them! They probably just noticed the ice cream truck and went to get you a treat." Chase tried to cheer her up, not wanting her to be unhappy.

Skye shook her head, a frown crossing her features. "It doesn't take three months to get ice cream from an ice cream truck."

"Oh." Chase's own tail dropped down, realization slamming into him that her parents really did abandon her.

Skye gestured needlessly to her bare neck. "They even took my collar when they left. Told me to be a good pup and wait for Amaury. Only I don't know anyone with that for a name!" She whined, dropping her chin onto her front paws.

"Hey! No problem...I'll help you look! I'm gonna be a police officer soon _and _I am looking for someone too!" Chase smiled, his tail wagging quickly as he began to figure out a way too help Skye find this Amaury person.

"Really? You'll do that for me?" Skye perked right up, her tail starting to wag excitedly.

"Yep. Its the right thing that any good police officer would do." Chase sat up straight, mimicking his father whenever he was being stern and all businesslike.

"Yeah! Yip yip! Yeah!" Skye leaped in the air, performing a perfect backflip. "And I can help you too... what's the name of the person _you're _looking for?"

Chase froze, just realizing a small flaw in his plan. "Well...um...I don't know."

"What do you mean...you don't know!?" Skye widened her eyes, shock flooding them.

"I'm sorry! I just don't! I only know that there is a kid that's been missing for the past three years...and I'm gonna be the first to find him!" Chase stamped his foot, wishing he had a name to go by.

Sky frowned, nudging him gently. "Hey...it's ok. I'll help you look too. Might actually be fun to do something else than hang around here."

Chase took a deep breath, allowing her attempt to calm him work. "Thanks Skye. Where do you reckon we start looking first?"

Skye paused, a frown crossing her features. "Now that is a good question...and I think I know just the pup to answer it. Come on!" Skye ran out of the park, her tail wagging with excitement.

~Few Minutes Later, Two Blocks Down From the Park~

Chase pressed his ears against his head upon realizing that they were nearing an orphanage. "Um...Skye?"

"It'll be fine! Come on!" She ran up the stairs leading the buildings front door, raising her paws to scratch at the door.

A minute later a gruff looking Pit Bull opened the door. "Yes? Can I help you?" The dog was male with a very deep voice.

Skye smiled up at the intimidating dog, clearly not fazed at all about his roughness. "Hi! Is Marshall able to come out and play today?"

The Pit Bull eyed her for a second, before turning away from them. "Marshall Ignis! Your friend is here again! You can finish your chores later!"

A minute later a slightly taller Dalmatian pup that was clearly about their age appeared in the doorway, his blue eyes sparkling with excitement. "Skye! You're here!" He rushed forward, only to trip and crash expectantly into Skye and Chase. He glanced over at Chase, a huge grin crossing his features. "And you brought a new friend! Are you going to introduce us?"

Skye laughed, wiggling her way out of the dog pile that they were in. "Marshall this is...I don't think I ever got your name..."

"Chase." Chase raised his head, trying to signal to this taller pup that he was the one in charge.

"Marshall, Chase...Chase this is Marshall. I met him a while back and we've been friends ever since. He's kinda like the younger brother I never had." Skye sat down watching the two boys meet.

"LITTLE brother?" Chase blinked, surprise flashing through him. Marshall was already taller than _him_.

"Yeah...I'm four and he's only three." Skye explained as if that makes perfect sense.

Chase widened his eyes in surprise as he stared at the Dalmatian. "You're only three?! But you're taller than me and I'm only four!"

"Cool! So whatcha want to do today Skye?" Marshall had somehow managed to pick himself up and was watching Skye with pure excitement dancing in his eyes.

"Chase here is looking for a kid that's been missing for the past three years. Oh! And he wants to help me find this Amaury person that Mom and Dad told me to wait for!" Skye did a backflip, an excited yip escaping her.

Chase turned to face the youngest member of their ragtag group. "I don't know the name of the kid that I'm searching for though. Skye said you could help me..?"

Marshall blinked slowly, staring at him in thought. "Joey."

Chase blinked, confused about that. "Wait...what?"

"I like the name Joey...so the kid must be named Joey!" Marshall straightened, as if that made perfect sense. Unfortunately, four wasn't that much older than three.

"Then let's go find Joey and become heroes!" Chase leapt to his feet, tail wagging with excitement.


	3. Chapter 3

A Run In Meeting...

The small boy ducked as he hid underneath the rickety stairs that served as the buildings fire escape route. Thundering footsteps crashed down upon the stairs, before a large towering form appeared briefly. Turning the newcomer ran down the alleyway to the busy street. The boy sighed with relief, before crawling out of his hiding spot. His new bruise from his beating earlier throbbed with pain, but he didn't dare say anything as he darted out of his hiding place, towards another street that connected to the alleyway the other way. Moving quickly, he sprinted down the street, weaving through pedestrians and darting across the road heedless of oncoming traffic. Finally he left the dingy streets behind as everything became newer and better maintained. A soft sigh of relief escaped him, as he slowed down, no longer acting as if he were in a hurry.

Sticking his hands into his pockets, he slowed even more as he neared a toy store, pausing to peer inside. He didn't stay long though, a police officer was making the rounds nearby and he really didn't want to get in trouble too soon about running away again.

Moving quickly he took off at a sprint down the street, keeping his head down in hopes that no one would pay him any mind. _Thud._ He blinked rapidly, confused as he tried to wrap his head around just happened. Pushing himself into a sitting position, he noticed that who he crashed into appeared to be three different puppies. One was a Dalmatian, another was a cockapoo, and the last one, who appeared to be the leader, was a German Shepherd. "Sorry... I wasn't watching where I was going..." He whispered softly, nerves dancing in his stomach.

The German Shepherd shook his head, before leaping to his feet. "It's ok... My name's Chase!"

"I'm Sky! Yip yip!" Sky flipped in the air as she introduced herself.

"My name's Marshall." Marshall titled his head to the side, his eyes glowing. "Do you know anyone named Joey?"

"No." He shook his head, amused by the puppies instinctual friendliness.

"What's your name? We gave you ours, that means you have to give us yours!" Chase prodded him, tilting his head to the side.

The boy swallowed hard, before clasping his hands tightly together in front of him. "My name is... Ryder."

"Cool! We're looking for a missing kid and um...someone else...possibly an adult." Chase piped up, his tail wagging with excitement.

"Well? What are we waiting for? I can help you look for the kid... I mean, I'm a kid!" Ryder scrambled back to his feet, hope shining in his eyes.

"Sure thing. His name is Joey...we think." Chase muttered the last part under his breath in hopes that Ryder wouldn't notice.

_**A/N: Thank you for being patient with me. I sort of forgot to plan out how they meet each other... and Zuma and Rocky. I considered doing them in this chapter, but changed my mind. It's been months and I get the feeling that you are all on pins and needles waiting for this to come out. I've been working on my other stories instead of this one because I've been so stumped. Again, thank you for your patience with this story!**_

_Ella_


	4. Chapter 4

Ryder has a Special Talent...

Ryder licked the gooey mess of melted ice cream off of his fingertips, even as the three puppies with him licked off the tip of their noses where their ice cream insisted on clinging to. "That was good... but none of the kids here go by the name Joey...nor are any of them missing." Ryder frowned, lifting a shoulder up in a half shrug.

Chase jumped to his paws, his gaze sweeping through the area. "It's okay Ryder... come on! There might be a clue somewhere that we're missing! Daddy says clues are important to leading officers to the bad guys."

"Okay...let's go!" Ryder led the way out of the ice cream parlor, Skye and Chase right behind him.

Marshall took of at a brisk walk to catch up with them, only for his paws to get tangled together, sending him tumbling to the ground. Which would have been find if he just tripped there and nothing happened like normal people. Unfortunately, when he tripped, he flew across the room and crashed into his friends, sending them tumbling to the ground. "Oof!"

"Marshall!" Ryder helped the puppy up even as they cried out in annoyance at him. Scrambling to their feet, they detangled themselves, before leaving the parlor behind them.

Moving down the street, they were discussing the possibility that Joey was at the movie theatre to see a new movie that had recently gotten realized when they heard a loud yelp... "Wet wet wet!" Startled, they approached the alleyway where the voice was coming from, peeking in to see two pups, one a mixed breed that was grey with white spots, and the other a chocolate lab, standing in a large puddle of water. At least the lab was.

"Dude... it's just water." He rolled his eyes at his companion, clearly used to this conversation.

"Yeah...but it's wet!" The mixed breed wrinkled his nose as he backed away from the puddle.

"Hi there! My name's Skye and this is Chase, Marshall and Ryder! What's your names?" Skye shot forward, nearly placing her face in theirs.

The lab lifted a paw up, pointing to himself. "Name's Zuma. And that over there is my main pup Rocky."

"I really don't like water...it's so wet!" Rocky wrinkled his nose in disgust as he looked over at the puddle that Zuma was still standing in.

Zuma shook his head sadly, before turning to face the others. "We're playing superheroes. My top secret powers is that I can control the waves dudes."

"I use energy tools to fix great, and small, problems." Rocky perked up, excitement gleaming in his eyes. "What are your powers?"

Skye yipped excitedly as she did another backflip in the air. "I can fly and create and control winds!"

Chase's tail wagged rapidly as he wiggled where he was standing at. "I can run as fast as lightning! Daddy says that really fast!"

"I can... um..." Marshall paced in a circle, a frown in place as he tried to think of something that he should be able to do. "I can..." He paused, his gaze landing on a fire hydrant that was nearby. "I can melt things with my paws! Yeah! That's it! I have super heat paws!" Marshall brightened at that, pleased to have come up with that all by himself.

Ryder shifted uncomfortably, having been unusually silent through the puppies conversation about powers, shrinking in on himself little by little. Skye, unaware of the fact that Ryder was, for some reason, frightened to where them talk so casually about powers, turned to ask Ryder what his make believe powers where. "Hey Ryder! What's your powers?"

"I can... control technology with my mind...and build really high tech stuff with my mind too..." Ryder mumbled under his breath so softly that they could barely hear him.

"That's cool! Um, how are you going to make believe that?" Rocky titled his head to the side, puzzled about how that will work in make believe.

Ryder fingered the edge of his jacket for a second, before gathering the courage to speak up. "It's not make believe... I really can do all that..." Ryder stretched his hand forth, squinting as he stared at an old street lamp that hadn't worked properly in a few weeks, far too dull. Immediately the bulb inside of it grew excessively bright, nearly blinding them before Ryder slumped against a wall, his breathing coming out in short gasps. "It just takes a lot out of me..." As if to prove his point, his stomach growled loudly in response.

"That is...totally awesome!" The puppies pounced on him, tails flying with excitement. Ryder chuckled as he petted each one individually, relaxing for the first time in years.

"Thanks guys. You really are man's best friend." Ryder started to stand up, only to freeze as a familiar voice bellowed out angrily.

"**BOY! YOU SHOW YOURSELF THIS INSTANT! THIS BEHAVIOR IS ABSOLUTELY CHILDISH! YOU HEAR ME!? CHILDISH!**" Ryder shrank back against the wall, his breathing becoming irregular as he clutched his left arm, as if it were in pain.

"Oh no... my uncle... You've got to go. He won't like it that I was playing with you guys instead of doin'... my chores." Ryder shifted slightly, glancing nervously over to where the angry voice was coming from.

Chase frowned, confused about why he was worried about that when they had just met new friends that could help them find Joey and the mysterious Amaury, what does his uncle have to do with that? "How about we all hide and pretend he's a mastermind villain that needs to be taken out!" Skye suggested as she ran to hide behind a random trash bin that was in the alleyway.

Chase and the other puppies brightened up at that, running to hide in various places so as to jump out and tackle, playfully of course, Ryder's uncle. Ryder pressed himself against the wall, wincing as the shouting got louder and louder, realizing that meant that his uncle was getting closer and closer to his hiding spot. Ryder yelped loudly as rough hands suddenly seized his left arm, bruising it further as he was yanked to his feet. Ryder clapped a hand over his mouth and nose to keep the stale stench of Tabaco from flooding his senses. Not that that helped any.

The man shook his arm firmly, fury dancing in his eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you... there's no escaping me! I am your family...the only family you've got boy. Come on, ungrateful boy." He took off briskly, dragging Ryder away.

As soon as they were out of sight, and ear shot, the puppies scrambled out of their hiding spots. Zuma shook his head as he looked over at the others. "I don't think we need to pretend that dude is a bad dude, dude. I think he is an actual bad dude! Ryder dude was totally scared of him!"

Chase stamped his right front paw, his expression tight. "We've got to find a way to save him... he's one of us... he's a member of the um..."

"Paw Patrol!" Marshall helpfully supplied.

Rocky tilted his head, worry making his tail droop. "Um... how are we supposed to help him? Our powers are just make-believe ones."

"Oh..."


	5. Chapter 5

Pups Find Ryder!

Ryder wanted to curl up into a ball and hide away from the world as he was shoved rather roughly into a dark room that had no windows or a working light for that matter. What it did have was a rickety chair that was on the verge of collapsing into a dozen pieces, and an old table that was in an even worse condition. Wires and pieces of metal lay on the table, completely torn apart. Ryder allowed the smallest of whimpers to escape him as he was roughly shoved into the chair.

The large, odorous, man that he was unfortunately related to stepped to the side, nearly blocking all of the light from the hallway. "You know what will happen to you if the police finds any of my friends boy... so you better get that scrambler fixed and working pronto. Am I clear?" He cracked his knuckles, as if to prove his point. Ryder nodded hurriedly, not daring to trust his voice at the moment. "Good. Finish it in one hour and I might let you have some lunch." Turning, he left the room, snapping the door shut behind him.

Ryder hung his head as he heard the tell tale click that the lock had been turned, making escape impossible. A sob escaped him as he pulled his knees up to his chin, hot tears streaming down his face as he cried for his new friends and dead parents.

~With the Pups~

"He stinks so bad!"

"Maybe he doesn't like to take a bath?"

"I've never heard of a human that didn't bath. Must be something else."

Chase gave his head a quick shake, trying to concentrate on what he was doing at the moment. Following the stench that was Ryder's uncle to where they lived. Pausing, he tilted his head up as he stared at the large apartment building that the odorous smell was coming from. "I think that they live in one of these apartments."

"Great! Uh, which one though? We need to tell the police the exact address!" Marshall tilted his head to the side, clearly confused.

Chase paced back and forth, trying to figure that one out himself. "I don't know... I don't even know how to tell which one it is!"

Skye pawed at the fire escape, the same one that Ryder had used to escape his uncle earlier, an idea forming in her very young mind. "Maybe we can use this to get higher up? The floor that smells the worst will be the one with them on it."

"Skye..." Chase pause, his nose twitching as he picked up a familiar scent on the metal rungs. "You are a genius! These steps have Ryder's scent all over them! He must have used them when he snuck out. If we follow it, it'll lead us right to him!"

"Sweet!" Skye did an excited flip midair, a yip escaping her.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Rocky placed a paw on top of the steps, his ears already flattening against his head with nerves.

The pups, all five of them, scrambled up the fire escape, paws occasionally skidding across the slick metal.

…..

"Stop!" Chase yelped as he paused, his nose nearly level with a filthy window. His friends stumbled over their paws, nearly colliding into him. Bewildered, they looked to him with a question burning in their eyes, uncertain on how to voice it. Chase however was expecting them to have that question. "Ryder's scent ends here. We need to get through that window!"

Zuma stood up on both of his hindlegs, eyeing the window curiously. "Rocky likes to collect old junk... maybe he has something that we can use to open the window?"

"It's not junk! I can make new things out of them and they're useful!" Rocky hollered up from where he stood near the back of the group.

"Well...can you make one of them useful and open this window?" Chase questioned him, relieved that Zuma knew about the odd collection.

"I have this old flat screwdriver with me right now!" Rocky pulled the rusty metal screwdriver out of nowhere, cheerfully weaving his way forward. Upon reaching the front, he stuck the screwdriver into the window and pressed down on it, using is as a lever to open the apparently unlocked window. Skye darted forward, squeezing herself through first, since she was the smallest. One by one, the puppies slipped semi-stealthily into the filthy apartment...until Marshall was the last one out side. He didn't hesitate to scramble through the window opening...only to get stuck halfway through it. A loud yelp escaped him, before he started to wiggle to try and free himself. The others darted forward, grabbing a hold to help pull him into the apartment. With an extra loud crash, he flew out the window, crashing into all of them.

"Oops..." Marshall flattened his ears to the top of his head, nervously looking over at his friends. Chase tried to keep a straight face, but he couldn't help the burst of giggles that slipped out. Soon all of them were laughing at his bad fortune.

"Come on... we've got to find Ryder!" Chase shook himself, already glancing around the rather smelly apartment to try and find a clue on where his friend could be.

Moving through the apartment, which appeared to be empty, they paused to sniff at random places, only to shake their heads. Nothing here really smelled _strongly _of Ryder, just a faint trace of his scent. That was until they approached the closet door, Chase sniffing half-heartedly at it, he knew from his father that it was illegal to lock kids in closets. Freezing, he took a deep breath, to double check that he had the right scent... "Ryder's in the closet...that's against the law! I should know...Daddy's a cop after all."

Rocky darted forward, this time rolling a heavy bowling ball across the floor. "Look what I found! We can use this to break the door open!"

"Brilliant Rocky!" "Wait... will that even work!?"


	6. Chapter 6

Never Underestimate the Power of Friendship!

~Ryder~

Ryder rubbed at his eyes, sick and tired of crying for a rescue that he knew was never going to happen. Sniffling, he reached a hand out to pick up the jumbled mess that was on the table in the dark room. No sooner had his fingers brushed against the mess than there was a loud bang from right outside of the closet door. Frozen, Ryder backed up against the far wall, staring at where he knew the door was located. His heart lurched with fright as another loud bang rented the air. He couldn't think of who it could possibly be... his uncle was most likely gone getting drunk somewhere or helping plan some heist... whatever that was. He only knew that apparently police don't like them one bit. Wringing his hands, he glanced around the room to see if he couldn't find a way out...despite the fact that he has already looked twenty times for an escape route in here.

Just then he heard a low thud sound as something crashed into the door. Muffled voices filtered through the beat up door, before the thud repeated itself. Once again voices seemed to filtered through the air...followed by a loud crash as his father's favorite bowling bowl came crashing through the door. It rolled to a stop next to Ryder, who quickly dropped to his knees and crawled over to the newfound hole. "Hello? Someone there?"

"Ryder!" Skye yipped loudly, even as she squeezed herself through the tiny hole. "We're here to rescue you!"

"Um...okay... I don't think I can fit through that hole though... its too small." Ryder eyed the hole behind her nervously, concern creasing his brow.

Skye hummed to herself as she glanced over at the hole. "Hey! Rocky! Can you make the hole any bigger? It's too small for Ryder!"

"I'll try my hardest!" Rocky hollered back, right before there was a scratching noise that filled the air as his lower jaw appeared in the hole. Ryder clapped his hands over his ears as a loud screeching noise filled the air as Rocky yanked on the wood. _This better work..._

…...

Ryder bit back a wince as he thudded loudly against the metal fire escape as he scrambled after his friends. Chase turned to face him, a frown crossing his features. "We need to get you out of here... where's the nearest bus station?"

"I can't go there... they require money and I don't have any." Ryder shook his head fiercely, sliding down so that he sat with his legs dangling over the edge.

Marshall frowned at that, before tilting his head to the side. "What about hitch-hiking? Can we do that? It doesn't need money."

"Yeah your right! But um... we have to deal with adults...and I don't particularly like... um..." Ryder shifted slightly, unease flaring up as he realized that it might not be so simple to explain to his new friends that he didn't trust adults...at all.

Zuma's tail thumped loudly against the side of the fire escape as he looked at them with excitement. "We could just hike away! And campout under the stars! That won't cost anything _and_ Ryder wouldn't have to interact with adults!"

"Yeah! _Now _that sounds like a plan!"

~Six hours later, Police Department~

Michael shook his head as he looked over the report. An orphaned Dalmatian puppy never returned to the orphanage...and since it was past curfew, the caretaker was very concerned for his wellbeing. "Now where could you be hiding..?"

"Michael?" Mākaʻi strolled into the room, concern dancing in his eyes. "It's past Chase's curfew and he still hasn't come home. Have you heard from him lately?"

Michael shook his head, now really concerned. "No... are you sure that he just didn't sneak past you or something? He's never been late for dinner before."

"Positive." Mākaʻi clearly was upset that he didn't know where his son was located.

"I'll add him to the missing persons list... he'll turn up eventually."

~Six Months later! Ryder and Pups~

Thunder boomed overhead as Ryder and the pups darted through the thick forest. Towering trees blocked some of the large raindrops from hitting them, but not by much. Shivering, Ryder moved to stand beneath one of the large trees even as a streak of lightning lit up the dark sky. That was when he noticed _it_. "Guys! Look!" He lifted a trembling finger to point at the tall dilapidated building that was in the middle of the clearing.

Rocky gave his head a shake, dislodging several buckets worth of water off of himself. "Finally! Maybe we can stay in there for the night!"

Darting across the small clearing to the building, the rag tag group hurriedly huddled underneath the patchy overhang. Lifting his shaking hand up, Ryder pounded on the door. "Anyone home?" The door swung open on squeaky hinges, allowing them to peer into the dark interior.

Cautiously, Ryder moved forward, the pups crowding around him. Chase sniffed the air, glancing back at the others. "No one's here... and I can't find any scents indicating that anyone's been here for some years."

"Abandoned then." Ryder squeezed his eyes shut, reaching out with his powers to see if he couldn't find the lights. After awhile he snapped his eyes back open, "Nothing. This place don't have no technology for me to control."

"Ryder? Can we stay here for awhile? My paws hurt." Skye yawned as she settled down to sleep on the dusty floor.

Ryder copied her yawn as he slid down one of the grimy walls. "I don't see why not. We can do some exploring tomorrow to help us figure out where we are at."

"Good...plan of attack... Night Ryder, Night Skye... Night Marshall, Night Zuma...Night Rocky." Chase yawned as he settled down next to Ryder.

"Night Chase." The rest of the pups and Ryder chorused together as sleep claimed the exhausted group...


	7. Chapter 7

Cleaning up the Place...

Ryder's fingers twitched slightly as he worked out the kinks of his makeshift washcloth. The soft moss was carefully tied together with vines, and the semi-filthy puddle of water that he had found outside was quickly being observed by the green stuff. "Okay Rocky... try to see if you can't clean the walls with this." He held out the lump of moss and vines out to Rocky. Rocky carefully took the homemade tool and went to work rubbing it against the grimy walls inside of the tower like building that they had stumbled upon the night before.

"Lokasbjsnfhei uhgsijshgjr." Rocky mumbled something out, some of the grim coming off of the wall.

"Okay... I'm gonna presume that you are saying that it is working?" Ryder raised an eyebrow upwards as he worked on scraping together another moss cloth to use on the walls.

Rocky nodded his head, before scrubbing some more on the wall. Zuma dragged a large branch into the building, intending to use it as a makeshift broom to remove the dust on the ground. Ryder glanced over at the door, vaguely wondering how long it would be before the others come back from exploring the area. There didn't appear to be any nearby civilizations for sure.

~With Mr. Porter~

Mr. Porter waved a hand cheerfully as his latest customer walked away from the store, a bag of groceries in hand. Dropping his hand back to his side, the entrepreneur stretched slightly, before wincing as a burglar darted past, a bag of stolen goods in his hands. The small community here in Miseriae Abundat wasn't a place one would consider rearing children, with the crime that had a fast hold on this place, why even bother? Moving back into the fairly safe sanctuary of his store, he nervously began to rearrange the goods he had to sell. Running two businesses instead of one wasn't something that he had ever planned on doing... until he had moved out here thinking that a small community was exactly what he needed after his wife lost her battle with cancer. No more hustle and bustle of the city to keep him up at night, no siree!

"Someone should have warned me that there isn't anything good in this town. No law enforcement, no emergency personal... why there isn't even a decent mayor here!" Mr. Porter slammed a fist into his counter, frustration flashing in his eyes. Even with two businesses, he couldn't afford to pay for any help _and _he lost more money than he earned every day.

"Mr. Porter? Am I interrupting you..?" Ms. Goodway, one of the few citizens that was law-abiding hesitated in the doorway, worry creasing her brow. It was her job to organize the town's social events... which never went as she planned thanks to the criminals that lived here.

Mr. Porter shook his head, already grabbing a sack to fill with her order. "Not at all Ms. Goodway. How is Mayor Schurke doing?" He frowned at that, wishing that the man wasn't the mayor of the town.

"He's...doing fine." Ms. Goodway deflated, her expression forlorn. "Still insists that the system here works fine and that I need to have a bit more fun in my life."

Mr. Porter decided against commenting on that. Due to being afraid of just about everything, Ms. Goodway never tried anything new. Then again, since the current mayor meant fun as in steal what she wanted instead of paying for it... maybe that was a good thing. "Usual groceries?"

"Actually... I came here to tell you that I'm moving back to the big city..." Ms. Goodway fidgeted nervously with her purse, peering into it to make sure that she hadn't been robbed in the last five minutes.

"What!?" Mr. Porter spun around to stare at his friend, sure that he was mistaken.

Tears glistened in her eyes as she sank down in an empty seat. "I can't take it anymore!" A tear escaped, sliding down her face face.

Mr. Porter grabbed a handful of tissues, hurriedly offering them to her. "There now! No reason to cry over it! This town might be horrible now but with elections coming up... we're bound to get a new mayor that actually cares about this place..."

"No! You don't understand! Mayor Schurke has no one running against him!" She paused briefly to blow her nose, before continuing. "Do you even know what Miseriae Abundat even means?"

"That someone can't spell?" Mr. Porter frowned, wondering vaguely if she even knew what it meant.

"It's Latin for Misery Abounds! How can anyone want to do better in a place called that?" She sniffed loudly...even as they heard a loud crash from outside.

Startled, they rushed outside to see that two more burglars had been tripped up and, surprisingly enough, tied up. The goods that they had been pilfering from the front of the store were still in plain view. "Ms. Goodway, I believe this answers your question. Someone does care...someone cares enough to actually stop a crime from happening." He bit his bottom lip briefly, before glancing over at her. "And the only way that someone is gonna beat Mayor Schurke is if someone that cares about this town sucks it in and runs against him. Someone that actually knows a thing or two about politics. Possibly even majored in it back in college..."

"Good luck finding someone like that in these parts. I'm pretty sure that most here are high school dropouts." Ms. Goodway sniffed, unaware of the meaningful look that Mr. Porter was giving her.

Mr. Porter rolled his eyes, before gently prodding her. "Didn't you majored in politics when you attended college all those years ago?"

"Oh...oh!" Her eyes widened in shock as she turned to face him. "Me run against my own boss? I can't do that! He'll fire me!"

"So? There are plenty of good law-abiding folks here. What we need is a meeting just for us...and I know just the gal to arrange it." Mr. Porter hoped he wasn't jumping the gun here. Yet, one of his neighbors just took action against a crime before it could go too far.

...

"Chase! I can't believe you did that!" Skye gasped out as she hurried after her friend through the woods. The three of them, after finding the small town, had stopped to dig through a trash bin to see if anyone had thrown something useful away. When two grown men showed up and started to rob the store next door to them in broad daylight, Chase had reacted instantly. Taking the men off guard, he managed to knock them out. With Skye's and Marshall's help, he tied them up with some rope that they had found in the trash.

When the door to the store banged open, the threesome quickly hide from view...and learned a very interesting fact about that town. No one seemed to care about it. Chase grinned at that, before breaking off at a sprint back the way they had came. "Me neither. You were like _way_ fast back there!"

"Thanks. Daddy says that stealing is against the law and its policemen work to stop them." Chase proudly announced, an excited gleam in his eyes. "Maybe we can set up that tower place to be a headquarters for us and we can save the day just like Daddy!"


End file.
